University of Pardubice Faculty of Arts and Philosophy 1960´S in Britain
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University of Pardubice Faculty of Arts and Philosophy 1960´s in Britain and The Beatles Kateřina Milatová Bachelor Thesis 2020 Prohlašuji: Tuto práci jsem vypracovala samostatně. Veškeré literární prameny a informace, které jsem v práci využila, jsou uvedeny v seznamu použité literatury. Byla jsem seznámena s tím, že se na moji práci vztahují práva a povinnosti vyplývající ze zákona č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů, zejména se skutečností, že Univerzita Pardubice má právo na uzavření licenční smlouvy o užití této práce jako školního díla podle § 60 odst. 1 autorského zákona, a s tím, že pokud dojde k užití této práce mnou nebo bude poskytnuta licence o užití jinému subjektu, je Univerzita Pardubice oprávněna ode mne požadovat přiměřený příspěvek na úhradu nákladů, které na vytvoření díla vynaložila, a to podle okolností až do jejich skutečné výše. Beru na vědomí, že v souladu s § 47b zákona č. 111/1998 Sb., o vysokých školách a o změně a doplnění dalších zákonů (zákon o vysokých školách), ve znění pozdějších předpisů, a směrnicí Univerzity Pardubice č. 7/2019 Pravidla pro odevzdávání, zveřejňování a formální úpravu závěrečných prací, ve znění pozdějších dodatků, bude práce zveřejněna prostřednictvím Digitální knihovny Univerzity Pardubice. V Pardubicích dne 19. 4. 2020 Kateřina Milatová ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Mgr. Olga Roebuck, Ph.D., M.Litt. for her help and guidance while I was writing the thesis. Many thanks go to my friends and my wonderful family for their permanent love, support and patience. TITLE 1960´s in Britain and the Beatles ANOTATION The aim of the thesis is to clarify extensive social changes, which were happening in the sixties in Britain. The thesis will focus on working-class and youth. These changes were reflected in song production of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who. So that the analysis would be successful, it was necessary to point out the most important changes in the theoretical part, which contributed to inspiration of the lyrics and subsequently to analyse the differences between the bands. KEYWORDS working class, changes, the Beatles, the sixties, songs, the youth NÁZEV PRÁCE 60. léta v Británii a Beatles ANOTACE Cílem bakalářské práce je objasnit rozsáhlé společenské změny, které probíhaly v šedesátých letech v Británii, se zaměřením na dělnickou třídu a mladistvé. Tyto změny se odrazily v tvorbě písní hudebních skupin Beatles, Rolling Stones a Who. Aby byla analýza písní úspěšná, je nezbytné v teoretické části vyzdvihnout nejdůležitější sociální změny, jež přispěly k inspiraci v tvorbě textů a následně analyzovat rozdíly mezi jednotlivými skupinami. KLÍČOVÁ SLOVA dělnická třída, změny, Beatles, 60. léta, písně, mládež Table of contents: Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 8 1 Britain in 60´s ................................................................................................................... 10 2 The Beatles ........................................................................................................................ 16 3 The working-class ............................................................................................................. 22 4 Lyrics ................................................................................................................................ 27 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 40 5 Resumé .............................................................................................................................. 42 6 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 45 7 Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 47 Tables Table 1 Words used by Lennon and McCartney ...................................................................... 38 Introduction The sixties are not vainly considered as a revolutionary decade as the sixties can be characterized by a huge number of social changes, new inventions and developments, which were present in Britain those days. Not only were made new things but also a social position and rights of women and of working-class people started to change for better. Consequently, a life of millions of people improved. These extensive changes are interpreted and depicted in some of the Beatles´ songs and at the same time in other famous rock bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Who, which came from Britain as well. The Beatles became a cultural phenomenon and in a way commodification for most people despite coming from working- class. The aim of this thesis is to analyse and prove the occurrence of the social changes in the lyrics of the Beatles´ songs and other popular bands, which have been already mentioned, from the 1960´s. Several songs are analysed, which are related to particular events, changes and personal issues of every member of the chosen bands. The differences between the bands in terms of way of writing are analysed as well. In order to find out an inspiration of songs, it is necessary to provide information concerning the biggest changes of the sixties in Britain. This part describes inventions, developments, rights and emancipation of women, which means that women could prevent themselves from being pregnant by taking contraceptive pill and at the same time abortion was no more illegal. Also, the position of working-class people improved and especially youth contributed to many cultural and social revolutions such as consumerism and sex together with drugs were no more considered as taboo in the sixties. Also, the acceptance of minorities was greatly important because homosexuals were doomed and regarded as strange and dangerous people until the 1960´s. Not only did social position change but also working conditions were improved. The working hours were shortened, and wages were rising. Therefore, people had more leisure time for other activities such as travelling or spending time with their family. As the society got used to having better standard living conditions, materialism and consumerism were at its peak. People wanted to enjoy their life as much as possible. It resulted in buying the latest products like televisions, washing machines and other electronics, which became much more affordable than in the past. Also, popularity of taking drugs such as LSD and cannabis started to be common among people. Despite having everything, there was a war called Vietnam 8 was that influenced people worldwide despite Britain did not participate in it, it resulted in protesting against wars and politics. The second chapter deals with the beginnings of the Beatles as a band but also skiffle music is mentioned as it relates to black musicians who played a significant role for the Beatles as the Beatles were inspired by their music. Furthermore, a social and family background of every member is described in detail because it can help to understand the meaning of their songs and style of writing. It is also essential to point out who contributed to the fame of the Beatles, the most important men who deserve to be mentioned are Brian Epstein and George Martin. The Beatles went through some rebellions, which are revealed as well in this chapter. Such as John Lennon´s statement that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus or an extraordinary interest in India and its religion. The third chapter focuses on the working-class people and differences among social classes from the point of view of place where they live, what job they have and all kinds of entertainments, which are various among the whole population in Britain. Although distinctions between social classes were still present, the society started to be more open in some cases and the society was considered as “classless”, which is explained in this chapter in more details. The main purpose of this thesis is to find out, whether all vast changes were an inspiration of the lyrics of songs written by famous bands such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who through the analysis of the chosen songs. It is necessary to prove whether the main topics such as drugs, love, wars or rebellion against society and politics played a role or influenced the lyrics and if so, in what way. Also, the differences among the bands and their lyrics are analysed as well. Although, they have many things in common, there are still distinctions among them. 9 1 Britain in 60´s The period of the sixties was significant in many aspects such as in cultural background of society, technology, science and medicine developments and a lot of new inventions, which had not existed before. Moreover, attitudes to sexuality, family, standards of living changed as well. This period became a milestone of the 20th century for most people living in Britain. It can be called as a “revolutionary decade”. Some of the developments in science, medicine and technology were created paradoxically thanks to wars. The sixties were revolutionary years but before Britain became successful, developed and independent, many events had preceded. One of them was the Second World War. Generally, it is believed that wars have negative effects on society,